NCAA basketball rivalries: Ranking the top 25 college basketball rivalries

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 10: A fan of the North Carolina Tar Heels (L) and the Duke Blue Devils pose for a photo while holding a sign referring to the Duke/UNC rivalry during the semifinals of the ACC Basketball Tournament at Barclays Center on March 10, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /

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No. 2 – Kentucky Wildcats vs. Louisville Cardinals

All-Time Series: Kentucky leads 37-16

Although the rivalry between Kentucky and Louisville has not been played nearly as frequently as some of the others on this list, many, if not most, of the matchups have been special. Intrastate rivalries are some of the fiercest and most hard-fought. When the intrastate rivals are from the upper echelon of college basketball’s elite programs, the rivalry gets kicked up a few notches.

So it is with Kentucky and Louisville, two of the most heralded, successful programs in the world of college hoops, and two of the proudest schools and programs in the nation. This rivalry has been played annually since 1983 and has the distinction of being the only rivalry on this list to have had one coach stand on both sidelines, as Rick Pitino guided Kentucky in the 1990s and Louisville in the 2000s.

Great players and legendary coaches, including Denny Crum, Joe B. Hall, John Calipari, and Pitino, have contributed to this being one of the great rivalries in college hoops. Bolstering the nature of this rivalry is the fact that these programs have met multiple times in the NCAA Tournament, including the 1983 Elite 8, 1984 Sweet 16, 2012 Final Four, and 2014 Sweet 16. a unique aspect to the rivalries we’ve covered here.

Game of Note: March 31, 2012 – NCAA Tournament National Semifinals – No. 1-seed Kentucky def No. 4-seed Louisville 69-61

The game of note for this historic rivalry could have been any of a number of great matchups between the sides. However, based on the sheer importance of the game, the 2012 Final Four clash takes the crown.

This Kentucky team, led by Anthony Davis, is arguably the greatest team in Kentucky history. Louisville’s program was on the rise and would win the national title the following year. Behind 18 points and 14 rebounds from Davis, Kentucky dispatched of Louisville on the way to winning Calipari’s first national title.

Still, the matchup of these two historic programs in a Final Four was a moment for the ages for basketball fans in Kentucky and helps to cement this rivalry’s rightful place as the second-greatest in college hoops.